Washing machine and method



W. ROCKE WASHING MACHINE AND METHOD Original Filed June 14, 1955 7. 3 91 2, 2 e. m J

z'sheets-sheet 1 TT :IHNE'YE June 22, 1937. w. ROCKE WASHING MACHINE ANDMETHOD 2 sheets-sheet 2 original Filed June 14,4935

MEN-rmi ATTDHNEYE Ressued June 22, 1931 WASHING MACHINE AND Mari-ionlWilliam Rocke, South Bend, Ind., assignor to Y Bertha M. Rocke,Bloomington, Ill.I

Original No. 2,021,466, dated November 19, 1935, Serial No. 26,557, June14, 1935. Application for reissue November 12, 1936, Serial No.

22 Claims.

This invention is directed to washing machines and means for'operatingthe same and to a method of'vwashing clothes, fabrics and the like.

The invention has for its principal object to provide a washingapparatus capable of thoroughly washing garments or fabrics in a tubwithout contact thereof with moving parts of the machine.

Another object lies in the provision of a washmring process wherein thewater and garments or fabrics in a tub are thoroughly agitated Withoutmoving parts in the area occupied by the garments or fabrics.

An additional object is to provide a means for actively agitating waterand garments or fabrics in a tub without utilizing the conventionaldolly. o

Another object is to provide a vortex-like turbulent mass of washingliquid with inner concen- Qn tration and outer diffusion zones throughwhich the clothes or fabrics are circulated so that the clothes orfabrics may be washed effectively and satisfactorily by waiter actionalone.

A further object is to provide a washing ap- 2'-, paratus including atub in which there is disposed means for agitating water therein, whichmeans Yincludes a devise capable of forcibly pumping Water into the tubin a manner to cause active turbulence in the water to agitate the sameto 3f, produce arwashing action.

Another object is to provide a washing apparatus as aforesaid includinga tub adapted to contain water and garments, or fabrics, a pumpingdevice capable of continuously taking water 135 from the bottom of thetub, forcing the same into an intermediate portion of the tub in amanner to agitate the water therein and return the same to the pump,there being means for separating the garments or fabrics from the waterflowing 4l) into the pump.

A further object is to provide means for agitating water and garments orfabrics in a tub comprising a rotary pumping mechanism disposedcentrally of the tub adapted to continuously circulate the water thereinin such a manner that the water is drawn from a sump portion of the tuband forced into the main body of water at a point well below the surfacethereof.

D whereby the pumped water is capable of creating a highly turbulentmovement in the tub to bring about an eilcient washing action.

An additional object is to provide means as aforesaid for forcing waterunder pressure into 55 the lower part of a tub to agitate the water and(Cl. (iB-3T) means for adjusting the pressure to modify said agitation.

Another object is to provide means as aforesaid, for forcing water underpressure into the lower part of a tub to agltate the water, con- 5sisting of mechanism for taking the water from a sump portion of thetub, forcing it upwardly in the central portion of the tub, downwardlytoward the `bottom of the tub and outwardly 'against a baille, whichdlverts it toward the out- 10 side wall of the tub thereby setting up atthe bottom of the washing compartment an outward flow of water which isdeflected upwardly by the tub Wall and causes' a water action capable ofagitating and washing garments or fabrics-while 15 at the same timesufficient water is diverted into the sump to maintain the supply to thewater pressure means.

A further object is to provide a washing device as aforesaid, whereinthe pumping elements consist of an impeller extending upwardly from thesump portion of the tub, a shaft afllxed in the impeller and passingthrough the bottom of the tub and a driving motor directly connected tosaid shaft, said shaft having driving connection with a power take offmechanism whereby the washing machine and associated wringer may bedriven from a unit power source.

Other objects will appear in the following description and accompanyingdrawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a sectional side elevational view showing details ofconstruction to be described;

Fig. 2 is a sectional plan view taken on line 2 2 in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of my device as the same 35 would appear ready forpractical use.

My washing machine comprises a novel combination of elements including atub I0 supported by any suitable means such as a skirt structure IIhaving castors I 2 attached at the lower 40 edges as shown.

The tub has a depressed bottom wall I3 above yand centrally of which isa circular baffle plate I4. The baiiie plate is supported upon thebottom of the tub by a. structure comprising legs I5 se- 45 cured to thetub in any suitable way. The barile plate structure includes an uprighttube portion I6 which extends from a point somewhat below the baille toa point preferably above the normal line of water in the tub.

In its upper portion the tube I6 is provided with downwardly directedopenings I1 the function of which will be explained shortly.

Surrounding the tube I6 is a cylindrical member I8 which is disposed anddimensioned to 56 ance between it and tube I6. i

Cylin-der I8 is open at its bottom e'nd and is supported upon tubeystructure I6 by means of a stud I9 secured in the top of the tube andpassing through the top wall of the cylinder. Between the tube andcylinder is a coil spring 20 which urges the cylinder upwardly away fromthe tube, this movement being opposed by a thumb nut 2I screwed uponstud I9 outside the top wall of the cylinder. It will be apparent thatmanual adjustment of the thumb nut will result in vertical movement ofthe cylinder whereby the lower end thereof is made to move toward oraway from the central portion of baffle I4 to adjust the dimen sions ofthe. open space between them. The

top end of the cylinder is provided with an outlet duct I8' shown closedby a cap I for a purpose to be described.

Baiile I4 forms a` continuous surface surrounding the tube I6 and isarcuate in section so as to extend downwardly and outwardly from thetube toward the wall of the tub II). A screen I4' is disposed so as tocover the space between the outer edge of baffle I4 and the Wall of thetub and permit circulation of water from the washing compartment to thesump for recirculation through the pump 22, said screen I4 being locatedadjacent the periphery of the tub and affording a sufhciently extensiveand retarded circulation area to preclude any undesirable diversion ofthe circulating clothes thereto.

Disposed within thev tube is an impeller 22 extending substantially fromthe bottom of the tub to the top of the tube. The impeller is affixed toa vertical shaft 22', the upper end of which is journalled in a suitablebearing 23 formed in the tube structure. The lower end of the shaftpasses through an adjustable gland 24 disposed in the bottom of the tuband a bearing formed in a housing structure 26, to have connection,through a suitable coupling 21, with the shaft of a motor 21'.

Housing 26 is hereinshown as secured to and supported bythe bottom wallof the tub and the motor 28 as supported upon the housing by means of abracket structure 29. It is to be understood that anyvother suitablemeans of,housing and supporting 'may be used.

Secured to shaft '22', within housing 26 is a worm-3ll which, as bestshown in Fig. 2, meshes with a worm gear 3I mounted upon a shaft 32.Shaft 32 is journalled in bearings 33 formed in the walls of housing 26and its outboard end is journalled in a bearing 31 formed in a housingstructure 38 supported upon the skirt structure II as shown. The'outerend of the shaft carries an axed gear 39 meshing with a gear 40 attachedto a vertical shaft 4I which is journalled at its lower end in a bearing42 formed in the wall of housing 38.

The purpose of the mechanism just described is to provide a power takeoif connection between the driven shaft 22 and shaft 4I, which latter isadapted to drive an associated wringer mechanism not shown.

It will be noted that the depressed bottom of the tub forms a sump belowbaille I4 and screen I4' and that the screen forms a barrier whichpermits water to flow freely to the sumpand pump but prevents garmentsfrom entering the area.

It is further to be noted that-any suitable form of water projectingdevice may be utilized in place of the auger form of impeller shown. The

ext/end from a point above the tube IB to a point y near the-baffle I4as shown, with suitable lclearintention is to force water under pressureintoa lower part of the tub to bring about the action noted andthis mayobviously be accomplished by any suitable pumping apparatus.

In operation, the impeller 22 is rotated at a relatively high rate ofspeed, which forces water upwardly in tube IB- to discharge therefromthrough openings II into cylinder I8 and thence through the openingbetween the lower edge of the cylinder and baffle I4, over the bailleand into the upper portion of the tub.

In flowing outwardly over the arcuate baille the discharged waterimparts corresponding outward movement to the water at the bottom of thewashing compartment, the` outwardly flowing water being deectedupwardly, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, as it nears thesurrounding wall of the tub or receptacle IU so as to carry any clothesin that vicinity over and upwardly from the screen I4 through which, itis to be understood, some of the water is diverted downwardly into thesump to maintain circulation through the pump 22.

It will be apparent from the above that the injecting of the water fromthe pump or impellerl 22 outwardly over the baie or deck I4 produces inthe body of the liquid within the tub or receptacle I0, an outwardlyowing current immediately above said baiiie or deck, which saidcurrent'imparts to the liquid thereabove an annular radially revolvingmovement in the direction indicated by the arrows in Fig. l so that thewater above the water jet or current from the pump 22 becomes a vortexlike turbulent mass with inner concentration and outer diffusion zonesat the center and outer wall respectively of the tub or receptacle andclothes within the receptacle are caused to circulate over and over inradial cycles with the water which tends to carry the clothes downwardlythrough the central concentration vzone around the cylindrical membero-r center column the bottom of the Washing compartment, then upwardlyalong the receptacle Wall through the diffusion zone of the turbulentmass, and then inwardly at or near the top of the radially revolvingturbulent mass to the concentration zone, this cycle of clothes orfabric movement being repeated and continued as long as 'the pump 22 isin operation.

It will also be apparent that the agitative action may conveniently bemodified in intensity by means of adjustment of the thumb nut 2| wherebythe gap at the lower end of cylinderv I 8 is restricted or widened toalter the velocity with which the water is projected int-o the tub.

When it is desired to remove the water from the tub, the cylinder I8 maybe set down into contact with baiiie I4, by meansof the thumb nut 2I, toprevent the water from flowing into the tub. The cap I8 is next removedand a hose connection Imade to outlet duct I8'. Operation of the pumpwill thereupon force water through the outlet duct whereby the tub maybe emptied.

I have herein shown and described an embodiment of my invention.Modifications of structure are obviously possible Without alteration ofprinciple. I do vnot wish to be limited in structure or function exceptWithin the scope. of the appended claims, it being understood that whilemy washing machine 4and method are particularly useful in washingoperations for cleansing, the term washing herein is not necessarilylimited to cleansing but includes operations or treat- I8, thenoutwardly at or near ments in which the washing action of the liquid isutilized for-other purposes. l

I claim as my invention:

1. In a washing machine, the combinationof a tub adapted to contain abody of liquid, a baffle plate extending transversely of the tub axisand lying adjacent to but separated from the bottom of the tub andhaving its periphery adjacent to but spaced from the wall of the tub, aperforate member extending between the baille and tub wall,'said bailleand perforate member forming a barrier between the upper and bottomportions of the tub, the normal liquid .line being substantially abovesaid bafiie, pump mechanism to conti'nuously take liquid from saidbottom portion and'deliver the same at a point above and submovement ofwater successively through the.

pump, over said baille and downwardly through said perforate member intosaid lower portion of the tub, thence into the pump, and a second cycleconsisting of movement of liquid outwardly over said' baiile toward thetub'wall,l upwardly therealong, inwardly toward the center of the tub,thence downwardly toward and outwardly over said baffle.

2. In a washing machine the combination of a tub adapted to contain abody of liquid, a sump inthe bottom of the tub, a transverse barriercomprising a perforate and imperforate member located above the sump,pump means adapted to take liquid from said sump and deliver the samewithin the tub directly upon'the surface of said barrier, and tothereafter direct it outwardly toward the wall of the tub at a pointadjacent the bottom of the tub, said pump continuously moving liquidfrom the sump, into thetub, over the baille thence into the sump, as aresult of which movement the body of liquid is caused to have acirculatory movement over said baffle toward the wall of the tub,upwardly therealong toward the surface of. the liquid, thence inwardlytoward the center of the tub and downwardly toward and again over saidbaille.

3. A washing machine capable of washing garments while the same arewholly suspended in liquid without contact with moving parts comprisinga liquid holding tub, pump means having an inlet for withdrawing liquidfrom the bottom area of the tub and having an outlet centrally of theliquid, said outlet being disposed a substantial distance below thesurface of the liquid, means to direct the liquid from the outletdownwardly and outwardly toward a side wall of the tub to cause undercurrents flowing away from the outlet toward the wall by which it isdirected upwardly therealong toward the surface of the water anddownwardly toward said outlet, thence repeating the described cycle ofmovement, the body of liquid being thus continuously circulated andagitated within the tub without contact of moving parts within the tub,as a result of which garments are continuously agitated and circulatedin the Water while being suspended therein.

4. In a washing machine, a liquid holding tub, means to conduct theliquid in said tub upwardly, centrally of the tub, means surroundingsaid first means for thereafter directing said liquid downwardly in aconfined annular sheet, means to conduct the liquid in currents fromsaid last means downwardly and outwardly to the side wall of the tub,upwardly thereof and then inwardly towards the axial center anddownwardly, and means to conduct the liquid to said first means.

5. In a washing machine a liquid holding tub, a sump formed in thebottom of the tub, a transverse barrier located above the sump, meansassociated with said sump for forcibly delivering liquid therefrom tothe upper surface of and centrally of said barrier, being so shaped asto direct the pumped liquid in current downwardly and outwardly to theside wall, up the wall and then from the wall, inwardly and downwardlyand means to continuously conduct liquids from the barrier to the sump.n

6. A washing machine, a tub, means to divide the tub into an upper and alower portion, comprising a member having an outer perforate part and aninner imperforate part, a rotary pump extending upwardly through saidlast part and having an inlet communicating with said lower portion,means to direct -the liquid from said pump downwardly against saidimperforate part in an annular sheet and means to direct the liquid incurrents from said annular sheet downwardly andoutwardly over saidmember up said wall, inwardly toward the axial center and downwardly.

7. In a washing machine the combination of a tub adapted to contain abody of liquid, a sump in the bottom of the tub, a transverse barriercomprising a perforate and imperforate member located above the sump,pump means adapted to take liquid from said sump and deliver the samewithin the tub directly upon the upper surface of said barrier, and tothereafter direct it outwardly toward the wall of the tub at a pointadjacent the bottom of the tub, said pump continuously moving liquidfrom the sump, into the tub, over the baille thence into thesump, asaresult of which movement the body of liquid is caused to have acirculatory movement over said baffle toward the vwall of the tub,upwardly` therealong toward the surface of the liquid, thence in direc'-tion away from the tub Wall and downwardly to-- ward and again over saidbaille.

8. In a washing machine the combination of a tub adapted to contain abody of liquid, a sump lin the bottom of the tub, a transverse barriercomprising a perforate and imperforate member located above the sump,pump means adapted to take liquid from said sump and deliver the samewithin the tub directly upon the surface of said barrier, and tothereafter direct it outwardly toward the wall of the tub at a pointadjacent the bottom of the tub, said pump continuously moving liquidfrom the sump, into the tub7 over the baffle thence into the sump, as aresult of which movement the body of liquid is caused to have acirculatory movement over said baille toward the wall of the tub,upwardly therealong toward the surface of the liquid, thence inwardlytoward the center of the tub and downwardly toward and again over saidbaille, all in such a manner that garments placed in the water arecaused to move with the water during its circulatory movement wherebythey are agitated in the water while at the same time being suspendedtherein.

9. In a washing machine, the combination of a tub adapted to contain abody of liquid, a baiile plate extending transversely of the tub axisand lying adjacent to but separated from the bottom of the tub andhaving its periphery adjacent tobut spaced from the wall of the tub, aperforate member extending between the baffle and tub Cil caused, l1afirst cycle consisting of continuous.

vmovement of water successivelyl through the pump, over said baille anddownwardly through said perforate member into said lower portion of thetub, thence into the pump, and a second cycle consisting of movement ofliquid outwardly over said baille toward the tub wall, upwardlytherealong, inwardly toward the center of the tub, thence downwardlytoward and outwardly over said baiiie whereby garments placed in theliquid are agitated in suspension in the liquid as a result of thesecond mentioned cycle of movements.

1 0. In a washing machine the combination of a tub adapted to contain abody of liquid, a sump in the bottom of the tub, pump means in thetubadapted to take liquid from said sump and deliver the same underpressure within the tub at a point spaced from the wall andsubstantially below the level of the liquid, means to direct the liquidoutwardly from said point in a line substantially parallel with thesurface of the liquid and toward the wall of the tub, said pumpcontinuously moving liquid from the sump, into the tub as aforesaid andinto the sump, as a result of which movement the body of liquid iscaused to have a circulatory movement away from said point of deliverytoward the wall of the tub, upwardly therealong toward the surface ofthe liquid thence in direction away from the tub wall and downwardlytoward and again away from said point .of delivery, and means enablingsaid pump to force liquid out of the tub.

11. In a machine for treating articles of fabric or the like in a bodyof liquid, the combination with a liquid-holding receptacle having anouter annular zone and an inner annular zone of smaller cross sectionalarea than the outer zone, of means for injecting a jet of liquid into abottom portion of the smaller zone radially outward therefrom across abottom portion of the receptacle into the outer zone, thereby creatingan upward flow along the upright wall of the outer zone, thence inwardlyacross an upper portion of the receptacle from the larger zone to thesmaller zone and thence downwardly through the smaller zone into theincoming jet of liquid, thereby creating a cyclic flow in a body ofliquid contained in the receptacle and in a plurality of upright radialplanes converging from said larger zone to said smaller zone, the bottomof the receptacle being provided with an annular outlet located at thebottom of the larger zone,

and an annular by-pass communicating between said annular outlet and theinlet of the injection means, the path of the cyclic ilow of the liquidand fabric articles being free from moving mechanical parts of theinjection means.

12. In a machine for treating articles of fabric or the like in a bodyof liquid, the combination of a liquid-holding receptacle having anouter upright peripheral wall and an inner upright peripheral wall,means for injecting a jet of liquid into the receptacle radially acrossthe bottom thereof from one wall to the other wall for creating a owalong one upright wall and thence across to the other upright wall andthence along said latter upright wall into the incoming jet of liquid,thereby to create a cyclic flow in a body of liquid in the receptacle ina plurality of vuprightradial planes converging from the outer walltowards the inner wall, the bottom of the receptacle being provided withan annular outlet located remote from the discharge of the injectionmeans, and a by-pass leading from the said annular outlet to the inletof the injection me'ans, the path of cyclic flow of the liquid andfabric articles being free from moving mechanical parts of the injectionmeans.

13. In a machine for treating articles of fabric or the like in a bodyof liquid, the combination of aliquid-holding receptacle having an outerupright peripheral wall and an inner upright peripheral wall, means forinjecting a jet of liquid into the receptacle radially across the bottomthereof from the inner wall to the outer wall for creating an upwardiiow along the upright outer wall, thence inwardly across an upperportion of the receptacle from the outer wall to the inner wall, andthence downwardly intothe incoming jet of liquid, thereby creating acyclic flow in a body of liquid contained in the receptacle and in aplurality of upright radial planes converging from the outer wall to theinner wall, the bottom of the receptacle being provided with an annularoutlet located adjacent the outer peripheral wall, and an annularby-pass communicating between said annular outlet and the inlet of theinjection means, the path of cyclic flow of the liquid vand fabricarticles being free from moving mechanical parts of the injection means.

14. In a machine for treating fabrics or the like in' a body of liquid,the combination of a liquid holding receptacle having therein acornpartment for the fabrics which is devoid of exposed liquid impellingmeans, a liquid impeller inaccessible to the fabrics in the compartmentand operable to force liquid centrally into the bottom of thecompartment, means centrally in the compartment adjacent the bottomthereof and associated with the liquid impeller and by which theimpelled liquid is conned for local-- ized discharge at the bottom ofthe compartment, said means having a substantially annular outlet fromwhich the coni-ined liquid is directed radially outward to producetherefrom an annular undercurrent at the bottom of the liquid in thecompartment and flowing radially outward toward the surrounding wall ofthe compartment at a velocity to cause the liquid thereabove to become aradially revolving iield of turbulence, and means under the saidcompartment communicating with the compartment and impellcr to provide aby-pass Ithrough which liquid is returned from the compartment to theimpeller.

15. In a machine for treating articles of fabric or the like in a bodyof liquid, the combination with a liquid-holding receptacle having anouter annular zone and an inner annular zone of smaller cross sectionalarea than the outer zone,

, of means for injecting a jet of liquid radially means, the path of thecycle of the liquid and` fabric articles being free from movingmechanical parts of the injection means.

16. In a machine for treating articles of fabric or the like in a bodyof liquid, the combination of a receptacle having therein a compartmentfor the fabrics whichy is devoid of exposed liquid impelling means andhas a horizontally curved side wall, jet means in the compartment at theIcenter of curvature of said side wall, a by-pass communicating with thecompartment along said side Wall and leading therefrom to said jetmeans, a liquid impeller inaccessible to the fabrics in the compartmentand operable to withdraw liquid into the by-pass from the compartmentalong said side Wall and discharge same through the jet means, said jetmeans having orifice means which is concentric with and spaced from saidside wall and of a shape toconvert the liquid discharge from the jetmeans into a high velocity relatively thin stream which is directedradially outward toward said curved side wall substantially uniformlythroughout the length of curvature thereof.

17. In a machine for treating articles of fabricor the like in a body ofliquid, the combination of a receptacle having therein a compartment forthe fabrics which is devoid of exposed liquid impelling means and has asurrounding side wall, jet means centrally disposed in the compartment,a by-pass communicating with the compartment along said side Wall andleading therefrom to said jet means, a liquid impeller inaccessible tothe fabrics in the compartment and operable to withdraw liquid into theby-pass from the compartment along said side wall and discharge samethrough-the. jet means, said jet means having annular orifice means thatis concentric with and spaced from said side Wall and of a shape toconvert the liquid discharge from the jet means into a high velocityrelatively thin substantially continuous annular stream which isdirected radially outward toward said annular sidewall substantiallyuniformly throughout the circumferential length thereof.

18. In a machine for' treating articles of fabric or the like in a bodyof liquid, the combination of receptacle having therein a compartmentfor the fabrics which is devoid of exposed liquid impelling means andhas a surrounding side wall, jet means centrally disposed in thecompartment, a by-pass communicating with the compartment along saidside Wall and leading therefrom to said jet means, a liquid impellerinaccessible to the fabrics in the compartment and operable to Withdrawliquid into the by-pass from the compartment along said side Wall anddischarge same through the jet means, said jet means having annularorifice means that is concentric with and spaced from said side wall andof a. shape to convert the liquid discharge from the jet means into ahigh velocity relatively thin substantially continuous annular stream,and annular deflecting means against which the annular stream is'directed from said orifice means and cooperable therewith to directsaid annular stream radially outward toward said annular side wallsubstantially uniformly throughout the circumferential length thereof.

19.\In a machine of the class described for treating articles of fabricor the like, the combination of a tub adapted to contain a body ofliquid and having a bottom wall and an annular side wall, central jetmeans in the tub having annular substantially continuous orifice means,an imperforate wall below the orifice means and extending outwardlytherefrom toward the annular wall and spaced from the bottom wall of thetub to form between said imperforate vwall and said bottom wall a sumpwhich intcrcommunicates along said annular wall with the tubabovethesump, and a liquid impeller operable to Withdraw liquid from thetub along said annular wall into the sump and return same through .thejet orifice means into the tub above and outward along said imperforatewall. I

20. The herein described method of treating fabric articles whichcomprises the steps of immersing the articles in a body of liquid,hydraulically revolving the liquid radially within a zone free ofmovingmechanical liquid circulating means thereby creating acorresponding substantially uniform cyclic flow of the liquid throughoutthe zone in a plurality of upright planes extending radially from acommon vertical axis and establishing in said zone small and large areasconcentric with and respectively adjacent to and remote from saidvertical axis, and circulating the *fabric articles with the liquidalternately through said small and large areas thereby compressing thearticles in the small area and distending them in the large area, theaforesaid revolving of the liquid being accomplished by applying asubstantially continuous annular sheet of liquid at high velocitysuperficially to the revolving body of liquid in the direction ofrotation thereof and substantially uniformly throughout a surface areathereof concentric with said vertical axis,

21. The herein described method of treating fabric articles whichcomprises the steps of immersing the articles in a body of liquid,hydraulically revolving the liquid radially within a zone free of movingmechanical liquid circulating 'means thereby creating a correspondingsubstantially uniform cyclic flow of the liquid throughout the zone in aplurality of upright planes extending radially from a common verticalaxis and establishing in said zone small and large areas concentric withand respectively adjacent to and remote from said vertical axis,circulating the fabric articles with the liquid alternately through saidsmall and large areas thereby compressing the articles in the small areaand distending them in the large area, the aforesaid revolving of theliquid being accomplished by applying liquid at high velocitysupercially to the y revolving body of liquid in the direction ofrotation thereof and substantially uniformly throughout a 'surface areathereof concentric with and extending radially from said vertical axis.

22. The herein described method of treating fabric articles whichcomprises the steps of immersing the articles in a body of liquid,hydraulically revolving the liquid radially within a zone free of movingmechanical liquidA circulating means thereby creating a correspondingsubstantially uniform cyclic flow of the liquid throughout the zone in aplurality of upright planes extending radially from a common verticalaxis and establishing in said zone small and large areas concentric witha'nd respectively adjacent to and remote from said vertical axis,circulating the fabric articles with the liquid alternately through saidsmall and largeareas thereby compressing the articles in the small area.and distendin'g them in the large area, the aforesaid revolving of theliquid being accomplished by obtaining liquid substantially entirely atsaid large area and applying same at high velocity superficially to therevolving body of liquid in the direction of rota tion thereof andsubstantially uniformly `throughout. a. surface area thereof concentricwith said vertical axis.

WILLIAM ROCKE.

